Full-Length Onboard Video of first Soyuz Launch from Vostochny

The Roscosmos State Corporation released onboard video captured aboard the Soyuz 2-1A rocket performing the first launch from Russia’s new Vostochny Cosmodrome on April 28. The footage shows highlights of the flight beginning with the ignition of the engines and the initial climb-out of the vehicle, rolling onto a north-westerly trajectory. The separation of the four liquid-fueled boosters is particularly impressive showing the 19.6-meter long boosters separate at the base of the rocket followed by their forward ends, sending them outward and away from the still-burning core stage.

Also shown is the separation of the payload fairing followed by the hot-staging sequence between the Core Stage and the Block I third stage. The video finishes with the separation of the Volga Upper Stage and the evasive maneuver conducted by the third stage to avoid a collision with the payload stack.